Aregbesola Set to Pay One Month Salary, Announces 50% Pay Cut for Political Office Holders
Also, the government has announced a 50 per cent cut in salaries and allowances of all political office holders in the state.
The union said the state government had paid only one month net salary without deduction, out of about 7 to 8 month, owed by the state government.
Addressing journalists yesterday, the NLC chairman, Babatunde Adekomi, said only November was paid to the pensioners, insisting that “there is no going back on the strike.”
According to the labour leader, “As we continue to negotiate with the government and as it continues to look for way to pay our salaries, we want to call on our colleagues to remain at home until further notice.”
He said the union had met with the Chief of Staff to the governor, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, who promised that one month would be paid.
However, as at the time of filing this report, none of the workers had received an alert as a sign that the payment had been effected.
Adekomi earlier said: “We are yet to receive any alert, but they said there is directive to pay one month out of the salary.”
The union has insisted that their resolve on the payment of five month would not change, even if the governor meets them later.
The statement from the Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Semiu Okanlawon, read that the government, while saddened and troubled by the turn of events in the financial status of the state and the country at large, is taking responsibility for the unfortunate problem and is prepared to meet the challenge head-on.
“Since the inception of this government, we have treated the resources under our control with the utmost respect and disbursed them diligently for the greater benefits of our people. Our mandate had always been to use our God-given wealth to bridge the gap between the downtrodden and the government.
“It is very unfortunate that we find ourselves unable to pay our workers their due wages for several months when, in the past, we stood for paying on or before the 25th of each month. We thank the ever gracious and understanding workers of our state for their patience as we go through this most trying time.
“However, we are glad to announce that we have commenced the process of paying the balance of November and full December salaries arrears for all our workers across the state and the process should be concluded by Friday, July 3, 2015. We are able to do this because our partners and creditors have faith in us and we have proven to be responsible and trustworthy.
“We must emphasis at this point: We are not out of the woods yet! Our finances took a dive because we were hit by the shock of the sudden and massive drop in global oil prices, while Nigeria also had a federal government that failed in its primary responsibility to secure our people and our commonwealth. Thanks to the Nigerian people, that evil leadership has been removed and replaced with a progressive one. That does not translate to instant cure for our near-empty pockets. We must take drastic steps to correct many of our past errors and embrace the true realities of today.
“Therefore, we hereby announce a 50 per cent cut to the salaries and allowances of all political office holders and appointees. This is one of the many steps we are taking to ensure the sustenance of our collective. We are also calling on our people to join us and do their part in carrying the weight of change.
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